A renaissance in computer science; chip designers search for life after silicon
Article Abstract:
A number of computer laboratories around the U.S. are experimenting with designing new types of electronic switches, or transistors, which are the basic building blocks of modern computering. Philip Kuekes, a Hewlett Packard Co. physicist with three decades of computer design experience, is part of a research project being conducted by Hewlett Packard in conjunction with the University of California at Los Angeles. The project involves experimentation with the use of molecular or biological materials as the building material for digital switches, or transistors. The Hewlett-U.C.L.A. team is one of six groups around the country working under a program by the Federal Defense Advanced Research Projects agency that is trying to produce a new type of molecular-scale electronics, called moletronics, that they hope will eventually surpass the capacity and power of the silicon-based technology of current computers. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are trying to use the common E. coli bacterium to function as an electronic circuit. Their research, whose approach these researchers call amorphous computing, hopes to map circuitry onto biological materials. The significance of the U.C.L.A. project, detailed in a paper published in Science magazine, is that for the first time researchers have built molecular-scale switching components using chemistry rather than the standard process of photolithography, by which circuitry is etched onto silicon using ultraviolet light.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1999
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Chip makers bolstered by strong report on orders
Article Abstract:
The Semiconductor Industry Assn reports an Oct 1995 book-to-bill ratio of 1.18, sending a clear signal that the semiconductor and PC markets remain strong. The bill-to-book ratio compares orders to shipments, and any number higher than one demonstrates positive growth. A ratio of 1.18 indicates that $118 of chips were ordered for every $100 of chips sent out in one month. Seasonally adjusted bookings grew 55.7% to $4.90 billion, up from the $3.15 billion booked in Oct 1994. The same report updated the Sep 1995 ratio from 1.11 to 1.15, as the industry continues to post ratios higher than one for every month in 1995. The association forecasts that the 1995 North American market will reach $47.1 billion, a 40.2% increase from the 1994 totals. The association's report follows in the wake of news that Intel was reducing the number of chips on order from Cirrus Logic, an announcement that sent technology prices reeling, but one which most analysts now concede has little overall effect.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1995
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I.B.M. begins making fast, cheaper chip; consumer focus seen on items like cell phones
Article Abstract:
IBM is producing a new type of chip based on silicon germanium technology. A semiconductor manufacturing process is involved that combines silicon's cost benefits with germanium's speed. Germanium is particularly suited for use in consumer products such as cell phones because that element is an efficient conductor of electricity. Silicon germanium chips could reduce portable-device power consumption by as much as 50%, and industry experts say all the electronics of a cell phone will eventually be consolidated onto a single chip. Other applications include network-switching equipment, portable devices for wireless access to the Internet and receivers for direct-broadcast satellite signals. The market in which IBM will sell its chips is valued at about $540 million, but IBM expects its share of the market to be worth more than $1 billion annually within five years.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1998
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